Thursday, March 20, 2008

it's not a huge deal to have my dad in town, cos he usually pops in without any prior notice. it's usually "am in the country and will be leaving tomorrow when can i see u?" and of course like an idiot, i wud drop everything, i have even skipped crucial classes a couple of times just to see him. after several late nights at various hotels and numerous meaningless conversations in airport terminals, the nostalgia gradually wore off. each hurried lunch,nocturnal meeting and hasty goodbyes left me emotionally drained. so i met him less and less and he called less. that was until my trip to naija in 2006. just like old lovers, we continued where we had left off, but with urgent fervor. i have my Daddy back!

ironically, he didn't travel as much as he used to, but he calls regularly and i call whenever the spirit moves me.

on his last trip he actually spent a night with me, it was rushed as usual, but it was very different. gone was the usual weariness i usually feel after he's gone.

back to the story: dad calls to say he was in Miami and will be coming to my city the next morning, which is Tuesday. as i was thinking in my head "does this man realize i work? he added, " i 'll see u in the evening after my meetings, shall i meet u at home? or we cud meet for dinner in the city? wow!

five days with moi, no meetings, just me and my daddy! one slight problem o, i had food shopping to do!never mind that the naija supermarket was a good hour away, and i had no clue as to it's hours. more than two hours, a fortune and a half later, i was ready to cook up a storm.

chei, naija soups are time consuming! (if anyone knows any useful shortcuts, it will be greatly appreciated o) after the fourth pot was cooked and carefully refrigerated, i crawled up the stairs to my room. as tired as i was, there was no way i could sleep without a shower with the pungent odor of naija food pouring out of every pore! i finally get into bed at 1:00am! oblivious to the 4 messages from Mr my1 or even the fact that we hadn't spoken in 24hrs.

the phone rings a half hour or so later, i still have no memory of the conversation but Mr my1 swears, i begged for forgiveness and a promise of something he's really looking forward to collecting on. lol. i wished him luck.

anyhow, am still mesmerized by dad's "effusity" (his word)lol and dad seems happy and proud. the soups were a big hit and he noticed all the changes in the house from the minute details even to the new kitchen. and most importantly he loves the library!

we pretend to watch TV every evening after dinner, but all we do really is gist and argue about a sundry of issues till late into the night. every night, i learn more about the man and much more about myself.

last night he accused me of being an ethical humanist disguised as a christian!why? he wonders if i pray, cos he has yet to hear my night prayers.(argggg!) he whips out his electronic bible to prove his point, his point: prayers shud be loud and forceful! i asked if God was hard of hearing or was in the company of rowdy angels. he didn't think it was funny.back to the main gist:earlier tonight, as we power watched ocean's twelve in prep for ocean's thirteen, he turned to me and said."u don't know how wonderful it is for me to spend this time with u.i have missed the closeness we used to have...."